A look at Rice's national title baseball team 10 years later

By Joseph Duarte |
June 22, 2013
| Updated: June 22, 2013 10:33pm

Rice was on top of college baseball after dominating Stanford 14-2 in the final game of the 2003 College World Series to claim the school's only national title.

Ten years ago today, the smallest school in Division I-A was atop the college baseball world.

On June 23, 2003, behind a complete game from sophomore righthander Philip Humber, Rice beat Stanford 14-2 to capture what remains the only national championship in the 101-year history of the university.

"It's hard to believe it has been 10 years," said Austin Davis, a starting center fielder as the Owls won the third game in the best-of-three championship series at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. "Every year that goes by, it becomes more special to me. People still remember and want to talk about it 10 years later."

Since then, the 27 players on the team have scattered across the country, enjoying personal and professional success. Three players - Jeff Niemann, David Aardsma and Paul Janish - remain in the major leagues.

And one thing remains the same: coach Wayne Graham, who has built one of the top programs in the nation, remains in the dugout.

Where are they now?

Chronicle staff writer Joseph Duarte catches up with the members of the 2003 championship team to find out what they are up to:

Coach Wayne Graham: Just completed 22nd season as coach at Rice; needs three wins to reach 1,000 at school.

RHP Jeff Niemann: Currently in sixth season with Tampa Bay Rays. Went 17-0 during championship season at Rice.

RHP Philip Humber: Best known for throwing perfect game with Chicago White Sox in 2012. Began this season with Astros and is at Class AAA Oklahoma City.

RHP Wade Townsend: A former first-round pick, Townsend played five minor league seasons before a shoulder injury ended his career. Currently a professional poker player living in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

RHP Lance Pendleton: Played in the majors with the New York Yankees and Astros in 2011. He recently retired from baseball and is working in the private sector.

LF Chris Kolkhorst: Founder and president of Kolkhorst Insurance Agency in Houston. Kolkhorst made a critical catch, crashing against the wall, in the eighth inning and scored the winning run on a throwing error in bottom of 10th for 4-3 win over Stanford in Game 1 of the national championship series.

2B Enrique Cruz: Spent seven seasons playing professional baseball. Returned to Rice and received degree in sports management from Rice in May. Hit a team-best .352 during 2003 season.

C Jon Gillespie: Works as a senior mechanical engineer for Summit Engineers in Arlington, Va. He holds the distinction of leaving Rice with a 1.000 batting average - he had a hit in his only at-bat in 2003 - and says it will stand "because I wasn't good enough at baseball to earn the opportunity to sully it." He lives in Washington, D.C., with wife, Kate, children Blake and Owen and Rhodesian Ridgeback Jenga.

3B Craig Stansberry: Retired from baseball two years ago after spending most of his career with the San Diego Padres, including a stint in the majors from 2007-09. Lives in Frisco and works at Allegro Development, a provider of energy trading and risk management software for oil, gas and utility companies. He's married to former Rice soccer player Jesse Willis and "most proud" of 21-month old son and a baby girl on the way.

CF Jeff Jorgenson: Since leaving Rice, Jorgenson has been on the go. He spent one season in the Astros' farm system before an injury forced him to retire. He's visited more than 65 countries and decided it was "time to see the U.S." so he cycled across the country. In between, he found time to earn a law degree from the University of Texas. Jorgenson worked as an oil and gas finance attorney at Bracewell & Giuliani and is a director at investment bank UBS. After so much travel, Jorgenson doesn't have to go far to follow the Owls: he lives five blocks from the Rice campus with his wife and two children.